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“Xinjiang Terrorists” Shot Dead by Police in Shenyanghttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/xinjiang-terrorists-shot-dead-by-police-in-shenyang/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/xinjiang-terrorists-shot-dead-by-police-in-shenyang/#commentsThu, 16 Jul 2015 00:41:15 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184908The BBC reports that three men allegedly armed with knives were shot dead and another woman injured in a raid in the eastern city of Shenyangon July 13. Sixteen others, referred to as “terror suspects,” were detained, as was a 28-year-old Uyghur woman and three children:

During the raid, officers entered a rented apartment where they “discovered Xinjiang terrorist suspects” and were attacked by four people “wearing headgear, holding long knives, and shouting ‘holy war’ slogans,” the statement [by the Liaoning government and reproduced by state media] said.

Police then retreated and called for back-up. More than 200 officers, including an anti-terrorist unit, evacuated nearby residents and surrounded the building. A cherry picker was used to reach the seventh-floor apartment.

[…] Police then retreated and called for back-up. More than 200 officers, including an anti-terrorist unit, evacuated nearby residents and surrounded the building. A cherry picker was used to reach the seventh-floor apartment.

Pictures of the raid posted on a Weibo account owned by state broadcaster CCTV showed armed, uniformed men stationed on a rooftop and in a cherry picker cabin. [Source]

At least four Chinese media outlets—a state-run news agency and three commercial newspapers—published reports late Monday saying police in the northeastern city of Shenyang had shot dead three “Xinjiang terrorists” and wounded a fourth during a counterterrorism sweep in the city, which is the capital of Liaoning province. They cited a purported Shenyang police statement, images of which were posted on a verified microblog account run by provincial propaganda officials.

But many Web-based versions of these news reports, which also appeared in print, became inaccessible by midday Tuesday, while the original microblog post was nowhere to be found.

[…] This statement and its contents were reported by the state-run China News Service, as well as three leading commercial newspapers—Beijing News, Beijing Youth Daily and Shanghai-based The Paper. A person at Beijing News said censors had requested the newspaper to remove its online report that cited the police statement. However, copies of these reports reproduced by other online news outlets remained available as of Tuesday afternoon. [Source]

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, which advocates Uighur rights, said that according to local sources, the suspects shot Monday were among dozens of Uighurs who had been rounded up and arrested as they were trying to flee abroad through China’s northern border.

“China shot dead those who resisted,” he said. “China’s barbarian policy of shooting people dead before judicial interrogation should be prevented by the international community.” [Source]

Citing the Ministry of Public Security, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday the 109 Chinese “illegal immigrants” had been on their way “to join jihad” in Turkey, Syria or Iraq, and that 13 of them had fled China after being implicated in terrorist activities. Another two had escaped detention, the report said.

Another spokesman for the group, Dilxat Raxit, said China was “shirking responsibility for Uighurs fleeing because of its policy of suppression”.

[…] Sunai Phasuk, a Thailand-based researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters the Uighurs could face serious abuses in China, including torture and disappearance. The World Uighur Congress says many in the group, which includes 20 women, could even face execution.

[…] “We have very serious concerns of torture, unfair trial, deaths in custody and even the death sentence, but once they’re sent back there’s really no way to track their progress,” [William Nee, Amnesty International’s Hong Kong-based China researcher] said. [Source]

Thailand’s repatriation of over 100 illegal immigrants back to China is nothing but a legitimate and necessary law-enforcement cooperation mission in agreement between the two countries, and should not be interpreted as an ethnic or religious issue.

Some foreign governments have made unwarranted accusations on the matter, which can only be deemed as another unavailing episode of their long-time finger-pointing tactics to interfere in China’s internal affairs and disrupt China’s security and stability.

When getting to the bottom of such empty rhetoric, one will find that this issue is simply about a routine law-enforcement cooperation mission in agreement between Thailand and China.

To begin with, those repatriated Chinese citizens are not “refugees” of any political or religious oppression. They are illegal immigrants holding counterfeit passports in violation of laws of both China and Thailand. […] [Source]

“Terrorist extremists from within China’s borders are recruited to illegally exit the country. Through Southeast Asian countries they go to Turkey and from there head to the so-called holy wars in Syria and Iraq, receive terrorist training and bide their time to return,” the ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters.

“This not only seriously damages China’s national security, but also is a threat to the security and stability of other relevant countries and regions,” it said.

[…] In March, Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief Zhang Chunxian said that authorities had busted “extremists” that had returned from overseas wars, but authorities have offered little evidence to support their claims.

Many foreign experts, as well as rights groups and exiles, have questioned whether ETIM exists as the coherent group China claims it is. [Source]

[…A]s security at transport hubs like train and bus stations in Xinjiang has been increased, Uighurs are Chinese citizens and have the right to travel anywhere in the country.

Tong said Uighurs, who speak a Turkic language, were using that right to get to border areas.

“You can’t just stop them because they are from Xinjiang or are Uighur. You can’t tell from their faces if they are terrorists.”

Tong’s remarks underscore the intelligence challenge China faces in Xinjiang, where government officials generally do not speak Uighur and where many Uighurs harbour an intense suspicion of the state. […] [Source]

[…] The report documents cases where residents of areas with slow-track processing who were members of religious minorities faced delays of up to five years in getting a passport or were refused a passport outright, without being given any legally recognized reason […] [Source]

Thailand’s military government has drawn vehement international criticism for forcing the 109 refugees, known as Uighurs, back to China, arguing that they had only Chinese documentation. Activists and others accuse Beijing of waging a campaign of repression against the Turkic-speaking minority in western China, in contravention of their religious, cultural and political rights.

[…] The Thai government said it had received assurances from Beijing about the safety of the Uighurs it sent back. It also noted that it had rejected a request for the repatriation of all the Uighurs held in Thai detention camps.

[…] “If we send them back and there is a problem, it is not our fault,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thursday, according to news agencies. Prayuth, a general, led a coup against Thailand’s elected government in May 2014.

China’s Foreign Ministry said those Uighurs suspected of “committing serious crimes” would be brought to justice, while others would be dealt with in “proper ways,” according to spokeswoman Hua Chunying. [Source]

Two witnesses who saw the Uighurs being led into trucks to be driven to Bangkok’s military airport said the men were handcuffed and some of women were crying and shouted, “Help us! Don’t allow them to send us back to China.”

Bilal Degirmenci and a colleague from the Turkish humanitarian group Cansuyu said they were forced by police to delete photos and video they had taken of the Uighurs, and were threatened with punishment if any were published or posted on the Internet.

[…] The World Uyghur Congress, a German-based advocacy group, said those repatriated could face criminal charges and harsh punishment, possibly execution, under China’s opaque legal system — the reasons they fled China in the first place. [Source]

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also raised the possibility of shutting the Thai Embassy in Turkey after protesters attacked the honorary consulate in Istanbul, smashing windows and ransacking parts of the building, over the expulsion of the Uighurs back to China.

China’s treatment of its Turkic language-speaking Uighur minority is a sensitive issue in Turkey and has strained bilateral ties ahead of a planned visit to Beijing this month by President Tayyip Erdogan. Some Turks see themselves as sharing a common cultural and religious heritage with their Uighur “brothers” and Turkey is home to a large Uighur diaspora.

[…] The Istanbul protesters, using wooden planks and stones, smashed windows and broke into the Thai consulate late on Wednesday, throwing folders and personal belongings on the floor, video footage published by local media showed.

On Thursday, police in the capital Ankara used tear gas to disperse a group of about 100 protesters at the Chinese Embassy after they knocked down a barricade. The street remained closed to traffic. [Source]

China’s military must bring “modern civilization” to the restive southern areas of the Xinjiang region, where Muslim ethnic Uighurs are in majority, and help develop its economy, two senior army officers wrote in an influential journal.

[…] Writing in the latest edition of the bimonthly Communist Party magazine Qiushi, the commander of the southern Xinjiang military region Li Haiyang and its military commissar Miao Wenjiang said that soldiers must “ardently love” the area.

[…] The article said soldiers must help develop the economy in southern Xinjiang, and encourage the people to “move toward modern civilization and move away from religious extremism”, by providing villagers access to science, culture, law and health.

Every year all military units must contribute funds to help resolve problems like a lack of drinking water or difficulty in seeing doctors, the article said. [Source]

“It’s safe to say that violence has continued roughly as it was before this latest crackdown, if not with greater intensity,” said Rian Thum, an assistant professor specializing in Uighur history at Loyola University New Orleans.

[…] Beijing blames the violence on separatist terrorists fueled by religious extremism and with ties abroad, and argues that it has invested generously to boost Xinjiang’s economy and improve its quality of life. Critics attribute the violence to home-grown disgruntlement over local corruption and an influx of Hans who have brought economic development that has not equally benefited Uighurs.

[…] A six-month report card on the campaign published on the Xinjiang government’s official news site this week focused on prosecution data. It said authorities detained 334 suspects and prosecuted 294 cases of sharing online terrorism-promoting audios and video, and seized 18,000 copies of illegal religious books.

[…] The report also cites as a major success the life imprisonment of a prominent Uighur scholar known for his open criticisms of China’s Xinjiang policies, although the September conviction of Ilham Tohti on the separatism charge has drawn international condemnation. [Source]

Xinjiang officials are now seeking former troops of “high political quality and military experience” to beef up security in the region, state media announced on Friday. Candidates should be under 30, have no criminal record and be “against separatism and illegal religious activities,” according to the Civil Affairs Bureau in Urumqi, the regional capital. Successful applicants will receive salaries of at least 3,000 yuan (£310) per month and help relocating.

[…] The initiative represented the latest phase in the “securitisation of Xinjiang with a clear focus on protecting the Han population,” said Dr James Leibold, a specialist on China’s ethnic policy from La Trobe University in Australia.

[…] During a recent trip to Hotan, a city in southern Xinjiang that has suffered repeated outbreaks of violence, Dr Leibold recalled seeing around 50 Han Chinese civilians dancing in a public square. Around them stood more than 70 armed police officers with machine guns.

“They just come when the Han come out to dance and when the Han leave, they leave too,” Dr Leibold said. “It was pretty weird.” [Source]

Asked for a response on Turkey’s offer, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the case was a matter for China and Thailand and “the relevant country” should stop interfering.

“We urge the relevant country to immediately stop meddling in placement work for the relevant case, be cautious with words and actions and not send out mistaken signals that connive in, and even support, illegal immigration activities,” Hua said in a faxed statement to Reuters.

[…] Turkey is home to thousands of Uighurs who have fled Xinjiang since the Chinese Communists took over the region in 1949. It has projected itself as a stable Muslim democracy, a key player at a time of turmoil and unrest in the Middle East. [Source]

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/11/xinjiang-violence-continued-despite-crackdown/feed/0Thailand Searching for Scores of Uyghurs Who Fled Chinahttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/11/thailand-searching-scores-uyghurs-fled-china/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/11/thailand-searching-scores-uyghurs-fled-china/#commentsWed, 19 Nov 2014 01:52:58 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=179230At the New York Times, Edward Wong reports that Thai authorities are on a search for 120 Uyghur refugees who escaped from a shelter there earlier this month:

The Thai authorities said Tuesday that they were searching for about 120 ethnic Uighurs who fled China and were detained in southern Thailand by the police earlier this year but escaped this month from a shelter there.

The escapees, almost all women and children, left the shelter in several separate groups this month; 21 have been found, leaving an additional 120 or so at large, said Maj. Gen. Puthishart Aekkashal, deputy police chief of a region in Songkhla Province, where the migrants were initially detained in March. At the time, the authorities took into custody 198 Uighurs who had entered Thailand voluntarily, the officer said.

“We’re not controlling them,” he said. “Sometimes they just walk out of the shelter. And when they are returned there, they try to walk out again.”

[…] The Uighurs who have been detained in Thailand claim they are Turks and should not be sent back to China. Chinese diplomats have been visiting the detainees and trying to persuade them to return to China, but the Uighurs have continued to insist they are Turks and to ask to be sent to Turkey or Malaysia, the deputy police chief said. [Source]

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/11/thailand-searching-scores-uyghurs-fled-china/feed/0Thai Weibo Offers “Kind Explanation” of Censorshiphttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/11/thai-weibo-offers-kind-explanation-censorship/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/11/thai-weibo-offers-kind-explanation-censorship/#commentsMon, 03 Nov 2014 23:01:28 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=178770Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck–both former prime ministers of Thailand, both ousted in coups–just visited China, causing such a stir back home with a viral panda-hugging photo that the current Thai prime minister warned the media to stop “presenting news” about Thaksin. The Shinawatra siblings, along with Yingluck’s son, also visited their ancestral home in Guangdong last Friday.

泰国头条新闻: Kind Explanation: Recently, former prime minister of Thailand Yingluck visited China with her older brother, former prime minister Thaksin, and her son. She posted photos and text to various social media platforms throughout her trip. Does this raise questions for mainland readers, many of whom cannot access [these platforms]? Let us offer a kind explanation. Foreign phone numbers set to international roaming in China can access all social media platforms. It is only Chinese phone numbers that are blocked.

游小龙YXL: Too many people in China don’t understand the actual situation. What would we do if everything were open and they were harmed by outside forces? This question will keep you up at night.

国内太多不明真相的群众，如果都开放了，被境外势力伤害了怎么办呢？想想这个问题，夜里都很难入睡。

BoyanJLU: That’s why young people in TW [Taiwan] and HK [Hong Kong] started protests again and again. It’s not about whether they love China. It’s not about whether they wanna be Chinese. It’s about defending a LIFESTYLE.

刘强UP: Thank you for your “kind” hint. It looks like I know what I’m not supposed to know.

Police say the group claim to be Turkish, although they have no documents to prove it and none of them had spoken more than a few words of Arabic, even to local Thai Muslims who arrived to offer help.

However, police sources say, the group shows strong similarities to Uygur asylum seekers who have been detained in Bangkok.

[…] “These people will refuse to acknowledge Chinese citizenship to avoid being forcibly repatriated,” said Kayum Masimov, president of the Montreal-based Uyghur Canadian Society. “They will simply refuse to talk. They fear for their safety.”

Human Rights Watch spokesman Phil Robertson said when Uygurs “try to flee overseas, Beijing often pursues them relentlessly”. He added: “Over the past few years, there have been several serious incidents in Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand where China has used its influence to demand Uygur refugees and asylum seekers be returned against their will to China.” [Source]

On Dec. 19, 2009, 20 Uighurs – a Muslim ethnic minority in China who have long suffered from state discrimination and other abuses – were forced onto a Chinese government plane in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, flown back to China and effectively disappeared into official custody. Since then, the only whisper of the fate of the deported Uighurs – who included two infants – was an unconfirmed report in mid-January 2010 that some of them had been sentenced by a Xinjiang court to verdicts that included the death penalty.

The group – which had sought refugee status in Cambodia – had been issued “persons of concern” letters by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees; under international law, those documents should have provided them protection from deportation. The Chinese government insisted that the 20 Uighurs were “criminals” to whom those protections did not apply. The Cambodian government ignored the high likelihood that the Uighurs would face torture, disappearance and/or arbitrary detention upon return to China, and under pressure from Beijing, Cambodia forced the Uighurs to return. Shortly after their plane left, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping touched down for a high-profile state visit to Cambodia, suggesting that Phnom Penh prioritized Beijing’s demands over Cambodia’s obligations under international law. [Source]

China has cancelled a deal to buy more than a million tonnes of rice from Thailand due to a probe into the government’s subsidies for rice growers, caretaker Commerce Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan said on Tuesday.

Mr Niwattumrong said a Chinese state company terminated a contract to buy 1.2 million tonnes of rice.

He said the company was afraid it would run into problems due to an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

Thailand is in the grips of a debilitating and intermittently violent political crisis, after months of protests by anti-government protesters who despise Yingluck and her brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. An early election on Sunday was widely disrupted as protesters blocked access to polling stations; the opposition Democrat party, which boycotted the vote, is asking the Constitutional Court to annul the results.

The rice subsidy plan—part of a sweeping slate of government subsidy programs that Yingluck and Thaksin have showered on the rural voters that make up their base—has been a costly disaster, as Quartz has reported. The guarantee that the government would buy rice at above-market prices has gutted Thai rice exports, and created a 16 million tonne stockpile that will either be sold at an enormous loss or rot away. Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission is conducting an investigation into Yingluck for her involvement in the subsidy scheme, which could lead to criminal charges or impeachment. […] [Source]

The cancellation will add to the pressure on Thailand’s government, which is struggling to secure funds for the rice scheme at a time when farmers who have not been paid are protesting in the provinces.

[…] The deal between Thailand and Chinese state enterprise Beidahuang was signed on November 20, for delivery starting in December. The shipment was delayed, however, after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved parliament in December.

[…] The government is desperate to get funds for the scheme because some farmers who have sold grain to the state have been waiting for months for their money.

[…] The Chinese cancellation is the latest in a series of setbacks for Yingluck, who campaigned on the rice scheme to win support in the vote-rich north and northeast, where many households live off income from rice farming. [Source]

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/02/china-cancels-thai-rice-deal-amid-graft-probe/feed/0Drawing the News: Soccer Heroes Lose for Chinahttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/06/drawing-the-news-soccer-heroes-lose-for-china/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/06/drawing-the-news-soccer-heroes-lose-for-china/#commentsWed, 26 Jun 2013 15:06:02 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=158494Fans rent their clothes and wailed at the Chinese national soccer team’s 5-1 loss against Thailand on June 15. So downtrodden is the team that coach Jose Antonio Camacho was fired this Sunday, cutting short his three-year contract.

But perhaps the despair of Chinese soccer fans has within it a kernel of hope. Their loss is a primal scream for the nation, a catharsis for rising housing prices, falling stocks, poisonous food, dirty air, forced demolitions, tainted water, and even the national college entrance examination–the dreaded gaokao. The national team may be hated, but therein lies its power–there, and in its immunity from “water meter checks.” “Quoting” poets real and imagined (the first quotation is from a poem by Gu Cheng, not Li Bai), cartoonist Zeeko finds reason to adore China’s much-maligned team, as they carry on a century-old “tradition” of victory in defeat.

For China, the arrest was a substantial victory, said Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of South East Asian Affairs at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, and an author of the book “Cashing In Across the Golden Triangle.”

“The capture of Naw Kham sends a message that no group or state is going to be allowed to mess around with China on the Mekong River,” Mr. Chambers said. “Everyone now knows the top dog on the Mekong is China.”

In some ways, China’s operation to scoop up the drug lord echoed Gen. John J. Pershing’s endeavor to capture Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary leader who in 1916 killed 18 Americans in New Mexico, Mr. Chambers said.

What kind of weak, soft, overly legalistic government worries about trivial concerns like international law and “sovereignty issues” when it comes to drone-killing heinous murderers for whom capture is difficult? Why not just shoot Hellfire missiles wherever you think he might be hiding in weaker countries and kill him and anyone who happens to be near him? Or if you are able to find him, at least just riddle his skull with bullets, dump his corpse into the ocean, and then chant nationalistic slogans in the street and at your political conventions. Who would ever want to give a trial to such a heinous and savage foreign killer of your citizens, particularly if it means risking the lives of your soldiers to apprehend him?

[…] In contrast to the strong and just US – which not only boldly drone-kills whomever and wherever it wants without regard to irritating trivialities like sovereignty but even tried (unsuccessfully) to pressure the Afghan government to execute its accused “drug lords” with no trials – the weak and soft Chinese are actually celebrating their own impotence. As the New York Times put it in February: “‘We didn’t use China’s military, and we didn’t harm a single foreign citizen,’ Mr. Liu bragged after the arrest in April 2012.” Note the word “brag”: the Times has to infuse something negative into the success of the Chinese in avoiding killing foreign civilians and relying on law enforcement processes rather than military strikes to apprehend an elusive killer.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/04/chinese-manhunt-shows-sway-or-softness/feed/0CCTV Pre-Execution Spectacle Polarizes Viewershttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/03/cctv-pre-execution-spectacle-polarizes-viewers/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/03/cctv-pre-execution-spectacle-polarizes-viewers/#commentsSat, 02 Mar 2013 01:50:29 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=152207Drug lord Naw Kham and three other foreigners were executed in Kunming on Friday for the 2011 killings of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River. State broadcaster CCTV aired the prisoners’ final hours, together with segments on their crimes and the ensuing manhunt, as a showcase of tough justice, but some saw instead a sinister and possibly illegal echo of the Mao era. From Jonathan Kaiman at The Guardian:

Naw Kham’s wry smile belied his macabre circumstances. “I haven’t been able to sleep for two days. I have been thinking too much. I miss my mum. I don’t want my children to be like me,” the 44-year-old Burmese druglord, chained to a chair, told a Chinese TV interviewer.

On Friday – two days after the interview – the Burmese freshwater pirate was executed for allegedly murdering a crew of Chinese sailors on the Mekong river in October, 2011. His last moments were aired on state television.

In the two-hour live broadcast, black-clad police officers hauled Naw Kham from a detention centre in southern China, bound him with ropes and chains, and bundled him on to a bus bound for the execution site. Three of his alleged henchmen followed in similar fashion. They were each killed – off camera – by lethal injection.

“Rather than showcasing rule of law, the program displayed state control over human life in a manner designed to attract gawkers,” Han Youyi, a criminal law professor, wrote via microblog. “State-administered violence is no loftier than criminal violence.”

[…] In one segment, Liu Yuejin, director general of the central government’s Narcotics Control Bureau, cast the executions as a pivotal moment for a newly confident China and for ethnic Chinese across the globe. “In the past, overseas Chinese dared not say they were of Chinese origin,” said Mr. Liu, who led the task force that spent six months hunting the culprits. “Now they can hold their heads high and be themselves.”

Supporters of the program were many, and enthusiastic. One blogger suggested that death by lethal injection was too lenient, adding “These beasts should be pulled apart by vehicles.”

Some critics said the broadcast, and the subsequent public gloating, displayed an ugly side of China and would hurt its image abroad. To Murong Xuecun, a well-known Chinese author, the program revealed a national psyche, fed by decades of Communist Party propaganda, that craves vengeance for the years of humiliation by foreigners. “It proves that hatred-education still has a market in China,” he said in an interview.

[…] Over the last two years the Chinese government has found itself embroiled in increasingly dangerous sovereignty disputes with its Southeast Asian and Japanese neighbors. So far, diplomacy has been the preferred course of action. Yet on China’s decidedly nationalistic and highly influential microblogging platforms, diplomacy — especially on sovereignty issues — is unpopular and viewed as a sign of weakness.

In response, the Chinese government and its official media tribunals have carefully ratcheted up the aggressive rhetoric, especially toward Japan, since the fall of 2012, reminding Chinese that they will not be bullied by outside forces. Rather, if there will be any bullying, China will be doing it.

A 2012 Reuters investigation into the Mekong murders described the web of trafficking in drugs, humans and endangered animals in Southeast Asia’s “Golden Triangle”, and Naw Kham’s legendary or perhaps mythical place in it. The report also highlighted the possible involvement of an elite Thai anti-drugs unit in the killings.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2013/03/cctv-pre-execution-spectacle-polarizes-viewers/feed/0Censorship Vault: Beijing Internet Instructions Series (30)http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-30/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-30/#commentsFri, 07 Dec 2012 14:48:39 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=147860In partnership with the China Copyright and Media blog, CDT is adding the “Beijing Internet Instructions” series to the Censorship Vault. These directives were originally published on Canyu.org (Participate) and date from 2005 to 2007. According to Canyu, the directives were issued by the Beijing Municipal Network Propaganda Management Office and the State CouncilInternet management departments and provided to to Canyu by insiders. China Copyright and Media has not verified the source.

All websites, interactive segments are requested not to set up discussion themes on the coup in Thailand, tidy up existing themes.

20 September 2006, 17:08, Chai Yue

Please close trackers on articles related to the appointment of Shinzo Abe as the Prime Minister of Japan. This may also not be discussed in forums, etc.

21 September 2006, 10:49, Municipal Network Management Office

(1) In recent days, posts on “Shanghai Anchorperson’s Divorce History” circulated online, all websites are requested to earnestly clean this up, timely delete this post and posts with similar content.

(2) On the Thailand military coup and follow-up reporting, only transmit reporting of facts and articles with objective circumstances, do not make comments. Online reports must clearly indicate the source of the information, it is strictly prohibited to gather news by oneself, it is strictly prohibited to directly edit or translate foreign media information, it is strictly prohibited to post foreign media information on forums and blogs.

All websites, concerning the matter of Chen Liangyu being removed from office, only transmit Xinhua and People’s Daily Net copy; it may be placed in the second or third position of the important news section, do not make it into a large header; do not make special subjects; do not open trackers.

25 September 2006, 13:34, Yang Le

Trackers may be opened on the matter of Chen Liangyu, and it may be discussed in forums, but:

(1) It is not permitted to attack the Party or the government;

(2) It is not permitted to wildly guess at reasons, or guess without limit;

(3) It is not permitted to sow discord or contradiction between the Central government and local governments;

(4) It is not permitted to sow discord and contradictions between Central leaders,

(5) It is not permitted to sow discord and contradictions between Central leaders and past Central leaders;

(6) It is not permitted to sow discord and contradictions between Central leaders and local leaders.

25 September 2006, 15:37, Yang Le

All websites: Please immediately remove the photo of Chen Liangyu from the news content page.

25 September 2006, 16:14, Yang Le

All websites: When transmitting information about Chen Liangyu being removed from office, please do not link to or transmit the CV of Chen Liangyu. Please process this immediately. Delete his photo.

26 September 2006, 14:09, Yang Le

All websites, on the Gan Yisheng answers to the questions of Reuters of this morning, please use the article as revised by China Net as standard, renovate it after revision.

28 September 2006, 17:07, Yang Le

All websites:

(1) For reports concerning SK-II, Landai and other Japanese cosmetics, reports from non-standard sources may not be reprinted.

(2) Corresponding reports are not to be put on the main page of websites, are not to be reprinted in the important news section of news centers (channels, columns), forums and blogs are no longer to actively discuss this topic, this sort of articles and posts is not to be recommended on the front page.

(3) No longer produce special subjects or columns on this matter, please push existing special subjects to the back stage, newly reported articles are no longer to link to the original special subject.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-30/feed/0Censorship Vault: Beijing Internet Instructions Series (29)http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-29/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-29/#commentsFri, 07 Dec 2012 00:08:04 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=147822In partnership with the China Copyright and Media blog, CDT is adding the “Beijing Internet Instructions” series to the Censorship Vault. These directives were originally published on Canyu.org (Participate) and date from 2005 to 2007. According to Canyu, the directives were issued by the Beijing Municipal Network Propaganda Management Office and the State CouncilInternet management departments and provided to to Canyu by insiders. China Copyright and Media has not verified the source.

This year is the 5th anniversary of the “9/11″ terror attacks suffered by the United States, the U.S. will organize a number of remembrance activities. All websites are required to pay attention: to report related remembrance activities, only reprint People’s Daily Net and Xinhua Net copy; do not make special subjects; timely block and delete acclaims for terror attacks and other harmful discussions; it is strictly prohibited that misleading and inciting discussions that link terrorism with the Islamic religion emerge online.

II. Notice concerning strengthening online propaganda work on building Socialism and a harmonious society

The Politburo of the CCP Central Committee has decided to convene the 6th Plenary Meeting of the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, in October of this year, the main theme of the 6th Plenum is researching the question of building Socialism and a harmonious society. In order to create a good online public opinion atmosphere for the convention of the 6th Plenum, and stimulate the construction of a harmonious society, hereby, the following requirements for online propaganda work are notified:

(1) Guiding ideology

Building Socialism and a harmonious society are the major strategic tasks put forward by the Communist Party starting from the total arrangement of the Socialist undertaking with Chinese characteristics and the overall picture of completely constructing a relatively well-off society. Online public propaganda and reporting must earnestly implement the important principles, policies and deployments made by the Party Center in the area of building a harmonious society, give prominence to propagating the new progress, new results and new experiences up and down the entire country in the area of building a harmonious society, and new achievements obtained in economic, political, cultural, and social construction, and other aspects, in order to create a good online public opinion environment for the convention of the 6th Plenum.

(2) Focus propaganda points

a. Meticulously explain and interpret our Party’s strategies and policies in building Socialism and a harmonious society, the important speeches of Central leading comrades concerning harmonious society construction, the newest achievements of theoretical circles’ research concerning harmonious society construction published by Central focus news and network media, and deeply analyze the major significance of building a harmonious society for our country’s developments.

b. Starting from both the macro-level and the micro-level, give prominence to introducing the new measures, new progress and new achievements of harmonious society construction nationwide and in all localities.

c. Integrated with welcoming National Day, look back on the course of our 57 years of development, give prominence to our Party’s wise decisions in concepts to govern the country and the development path, and its important navigational function.

d. Give prominence propagating our Party’s confronting the problem of influencing the harmony of Chinese society with a positive attitude, correctly dissolving social contradictions, expanding the harmonious factors to the largest extent, and reducing the inharmonious factors to the largest extent.

a. From 15 September, Qianlong, Sina, Sohu, NetEase, TOM and China Net shall again publish a corresponding special subject on building a harmonious society on the main page of the news website “focus subject” or “hot subject” areas (the original special subject may be used). Before 1 October, it may be placed in a relatively low position in the focus subject section; after 1 October, it is to be put in a high position, on the second or third line; from three days before the 6th Plenum begins until three days after the meeting concludes, it must be placed on the first position of special subjects, and special subject entry points are to be set up on the main page of the website and the news section.

c. Before and after the 6th Plenum, strengthen propaganda and reports around the process of the meetings; strengthen deep interpretation of the reports and decisions passed at the meeting, and the speeches of General Secretary Hu Jintao.

d. Vigorously excavate news events reflecting the “harmonious society,” and use them to substantiate the special subject.

e. Revolving around harmonious society construction topics, set up constructive discussion topics, and guide netizens to participate in discussion on harmonious society construction.

(4) Work requirements

Propaganda keys must be strictly grasped, persist in giving first place to positive propaganda. News information sources must be standardized, strengthen guidance, supervision and control over online public opinion. All websites cannot exaggerate or play up topics existing in harmonious society construction and are not allowed to engage in online surveys under the guise of harmonious society construction topics, online attacking discussions and harmful information must be timely deleted. If any website has good propaganda suggestions, they must report the propaganda policy and plan to our office for examination and approval in advance. Contact person: Municipal Network Management and Network Propaganda Office, Lin Lingsi, telephone: 85120188, ext. 852; 13164291104, e-mail: linlingsi@vip.163.com

III. Notice concerning doing online propaganda and reporting for the 57th National Day well

1 October of this year is the day of remembrance for the 57th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, in order to even better propagate the glorious course that our country has marched for 57 years, and create a joyous and auspicious holiday atmosphere, hereby, the following is notified concerning online propaganda and reporting work for the 57th National Day:

(1) Guiding ideology

Forcefully propagate the increase in our country’s comprehensive national strength since the founding of the nation and especially since reform and opening up, the social development progress, the improvement in people’s living standards and the rise in international position; forcefully propagate the prominent achievements obtained by our country in political, economic, cultural and social construction and other areas; forcefully propagate that the correct leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is an important guarantee for our country to become strong and prosperous; forcefully propagate the new progress and new achievements of the people of all ethnicities in the entire country of establishing and implementing the scientific development view, completely constructing a relatively well-off society, building a Socialist harmonious society, and constructing a new Socialist countryside in these new times, to create a good holiday atmosphere for the 57th National day.

(2) Propaganda focus points

a. Forcefully propagate the huge achievements of our country since founding the nation and especially since reform and opening up in the aspects of political, economic, cultural, and social construction, prominently report the achievements gained in our country’s economic construction in the last half-year.

b. Vigorously report the celebration activities organized in all localities in the entire country around the 57th National Day, all sectors and all industries’ actual activities to present gifts for the 57th glorious anniversary of the motherland, to create a united, warm, and joyous holiday atmosphere.

c. Grasp the key theme of propaganda and reporting on the Golden Week travel well, guide netizens to have a healthy, happy and safe National Day vacation, put an end to the emergence of propaganda and reports that propagate luxury and waste, and environmental destruction.

d. Integrate Mid-Autumn Festival, and ensure propaganda and reports that gives high regard to China’s traditional holidays and carries forward the excellent cultural traditions of the Chinese nation.

e. Qianlong Net will strengthen propaganda and reporting over corresponding activities to celebrate the 57th National Day in Beijing City and on economic and social construction achievements, and sets up a special section; commercial websites must appropriately expand propaganda strength concerning activities related to the 57th National Day in Beijing City.

(3) Work arrangements

a. All Qianlong, Sina, Sohu, Netease, TOM, and China Net must roll out a “Celebrate the 57th Anniversary of the Foundation of the People’s Republic of China” (the name may be somewhat changed) in the special subject section of the news centre, starting from 25 September, and maintain it until 15 October.

b. This special subject production must fully give rein to the initiative and creativity of all websites, all websites, apart from having to transmit National Day speeches from Central leaders and Central organizations’ important National Day activities, may set up National Day propaganda and reporting plans by themselves, but relevant plans must be reported to the Network Management Office Network Propaganda Office for examination and approval before 20 September. Contact person: Network Management Office Network Propaganda Office, Lin Lingsi, telephone: 85120188, ext. 852; 13164291104, e-mail: linlingsi@vip.163.com

11 September 2006, 9:51, Beijing Municipal Information Office

All businesses: Please make the title “Beijing Network Media Zunyi Declaration” into the special subject entry point for the “Glory of the Zunyi Conference”, and put the entire text of the Qianlong Net information “Qianlong Net and other Beijing Media Issue the ‘Beijing Network Media Zunyi Declaration’” in the header of the special subject (http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2006/09/11/183@3412457.htm), at the same time, issue the title “Beijing Network Media Zunyi Declaration” on the main page of websites. All specialist websites: please reprint the “Qianlong Net and other Beijing Media Issue the ‘Beijing Network Media Zunyi Declaration’” on the main page of websites and the header of the first page of the news centers or the first page of forums (http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2006/09/11/183@3412457.htm).

Everyone, now, the special subject “ideological and moral education of the youth” is to go online, and put up from today until the 17th, put it in the second line of the main page of websites and the second line of the important news section of the news centre, juxtapose it with the special subjects on running the web in a civilized manner and the Long March.

12 September 2006, 15:10, Network Management Office, Duty Manager

All websites, please search for and delete the text “Doctoral Students Uncover and Report Scandal in the Chongqing University Economics and Management Faculty” from forums and blogs. The said post states: “I am Li Qiongfang, a research student of Chongqing University President Zhang, I am now in the third year of my doctorate, at present, we live in the dark Chongqing University, pass our days in extreme difficulty, look forward to all walks of society paying attention to our fate, and paying attention to the widely existing problems in Chongqing University…” Chongqing University has issued a statement concerning this matter that states: Chongqing University states that in the past few days, there were domestic websites who published a post that so-called “Doctoral Students Uncover and Report Scandal in the Chongqing University Economics and Management Faculty,” and many echoing posts have emerged. Against this, Chongqing University states the following: (1) After checking and verification, Chongqing University has never had a doctoral student called Li Qiongfang; (2) The phenomena listed in these posts are pure fabrications, and maliciously defame Chongqing University and corresponding lecturers; (3) Our school’s doctoral student recruitment and training has strict management structures and financial structures, and the phenomena of bribe-taking, embezzlement of student allowances, wilful delay of student training segments and graduation alluded to in the posts have never taken place; (4) In order to guarantee the training quality of doctoral students, the provisions of the school’s “Chongqing University Graduate Student Management Regulations ‘Trial,’” the “Chongqing University Regulations on Graduate Student Applications for Master and Doctoral Degrees and Publishing of Academic Dissertations (Trial Draft)” and document CQU No. (2005)40 have been strictly implemented in the Economics and Management Faculty’s training of doctoral students; (5) The school has reported this case to the public security organs, the public security organs have accepted it. The school will continue to adopt legal methods to clarify the facts and safeguard the reputation of the school and the rights and interests of lecturers and staff. Chongqing University President’s Office, 30 August 2006

12 September 2006, 15:12, Network Management Office, Duty Manager

All websites: Please immediately link to the Dayu Net special subject “Large Campaign for Online Donations – Themed Disaster Relief Activities to Help the Chongqing Disaster Areas to Cross the Crisis” in the special subject column of the website’s news center, and leave it there for six months.

12 September 2006, 15:12, network Management Office, Duty Manager

(1) Please immediately delete the article “Prestige of Japanese Prime Ministerial Candidate Under Attack Because of Buying Spirits in China.”

(3) All websites are requested to pay attention: In the time before and after the day of remembrance of the Mukden Incident, please do not open trackers on reports involving Japan. Forums are also not to guide discussions, do not make reports involving Japan into main posts.

18 September 2006, 15:13, Beijing Municipal Information Office

Today, the post of the so-called “Provisional Rules on Implementing Policies Concerning Military Cadres Transferred to Enterprises” has been issued on some forums and websites, these so-called “rules” are pure rumors. Whenever they emerge, they must be immediately deleted, websites may also not upload this information.

(2) The auction house Sotheby’s has claimed that it will organize an auction having articles from China’s Cultural Revolution and “June 4th” in the near future. Please do not report this auction. It must also be prevented that relevant information is spread on interactive segments.

(3) Please delete the article “South Korea Scrambles for the Su Reef in the East China Sea – Chinese Side Strengthens Maritime Patrols and Management.”

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/12/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-29/feed/0Censorship Vault: Beijing Internet Instructions Series (20)http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-20/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/censorship-vault-beijing-internet-instructions-series-20/#commentsTue, 27 Nov 2012 16:32:10 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=147209In partnership with the China Copyright and Media blog, CDT is adding the “Beijing Internet Instructions” series to the Censorship Vault. These directives were originally published on Canyu.org (Participate) and date from 2005 to 2007. According to Canyu, the directives were issued by the Beijing Municipal Network Propaganda Management Office and the State CouncilInternet management departments and provided to to Canyu by insiders. China Copyright and Media has not verified the source.

Concerning the matter of the Beijing Vice-Mayor Liu Zhihua, water it down, only reprint Xinhua copy, do not change titles, do not put it on main pages of websites and the important news sections of websites, do not set up special subject sections, do not make corresponding links, do not set up commentary trackers, it may be put in the lower part of the domestic news section in the news center. Forums, blogs, trackers and other interactive segments are not to post or discuss this, do not send short messages.

12 June 2006, 15:52, Network Management Office, Duty manager

Everyone: For reporting the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, only use Xinhua copy, do not transmit copy from other sources; it is especially not permitted to reprint non-standard source copy that discloses the contradictions and disagreements between the member states; do not say that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an anti-United States organization; forums and blogs also can only use Xinhua copy for posts, and are not permitted to issue copy with other content, where matters are discovered that do not conform to the above requirements, they are to be deleted without exception;

Reports concerning the situation in Thailand must maintain neutrality, and not comment or play up the political situation, it is not permitted to use or post information from foreign media and websites.

12 June 2006, 16:55, Network Management Office, Duty manager

No website may reprint all sorts of “Protect the Diaoyu Islands” or “Occupy the Diaoyu Islands” activities in the near future, forums and blogs may also not post this sort of information.

13 June 2006, 15:38, Chen Hua

Concerning the matter of Liu Zhihua, without exception use Xinhua copy, everyone is requested to investigate their own websites for whether or not articles from the China Industry and Commerce Times are present, if they are, delete them without exception, the finance and economics channel is to be especially notified.

13 June 2006, 9:59, Network Management Office, Duty manager

Everyone, please place the special subject of “running the web in a civilized manner” on the main page of present websites and in the part for running the web in a civilized manner, in the second line of the important news section of the news center, juxtapose it with the science and technology Olympics and the red meetings, the article of Zheng Peimin may be moved to the backstage.

14 June 2006, 11:12, Chen Hua

In the last few days, posts concerning “college entrance exam questions were leaked in a number of districts in Liaoning” appeared forum, news trackers and blogs, creating a harmful social influence. All websites are requested to not print news and comment related to this matter, it is not to be discussed in forums, and existing articles and posts must be deleted.

15 June 2006, 15:26, Network Management Office, Duty manager

“New Countryside Construction Triggers a Wave of Overseas Fact-Finding Trips, 30.000 Chinese Officials Go to Korea for Study,” published by the Caijing Times is false information. All websites are requested to delete this article, where there are relevant posts in forums, these must also be timely deleted.

15 June 2006, 15:37, Network Management Office, Duty manager

Stressed: For reports on the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, only use Xinhua copy, copy from other sources may not be used without exception, it is strictly prohibited to edit or translate foreign media information; close news trackers on information on the Shanghai Cooperation Summit; discussions on forums and blogs concerning the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are limited to posting of official Xinhua copy, do not open trackers; delete posts in forums that attack the Summit, attack the preparation work for the Summit, believe that this Summit is opposition to the United States, as well as debates on Iran, Pakistan and this Summit.

15 June 2006, 22:07, Chen Hua

Concerning information on the accident of a military transport plane, only transmit Xinhua copy, no news trackers may be set up, forums are limited to posting official Xinhua copy, do not discuss.

16 June 2006, 18:33, Network Management Office, Duty manager

Some media reprinted information on “sudden scandal about adding sports points in the Hunan college entrance exam.” In order to guarantee the smooth process of higher education student recruitment work, and safeguard social stability, all websites are no longer to reprint this report, forums and trackers, etc., are also not to discuss this matter.

16 June 2006, 19:33, Fan Tao

All websites are requested to investigate whether or not there are posts in forums and blogs concerning a folk organization in Guilin attacking a Xinjiang pickpocket and criminal (images and text), and speedily delete this post and corresponding posts.

17 June 2006, 14:31, Chen Hua

Everyone, do not set up forums, blogs or trackers on taxis and drivers without exception, do not discuss corresponding topics. All are requested to deal with this.

17 June 2006, 18:35, Chen Hua

Everyone, in recent times, not a few reports and posts have emerged online concerning “death through overwork” of the Shenzhen employee Hu Xinyu, all websites are requested to no longer transmit this sort of articles, existing articles must be completely pushed to the back stage, do not post articles concerning the “death through overwork” of Hu Xinyu in forums and blogs.

19 June 2006, 9:11, Lu Chao

Internal information: there is a rumor that there will be a taxi driver strike on 1 July, please strengthen control over corresponding information, if there is information, timely give it to us, telephone: 85223522.

In a recent speech to members of the Chinese community in Thailand, footage of which was posted to the website thaicn.com on Wednesday, Mr. Wen gave what sounded like farewell speech, despite having another four months at the helm of the world’s second-largest economy.

What was remarkable about the speech was not so much its content as the way it ended.

“In the pursuit of truth, I would die nine times without regret. If I’m going to die, I want to die with honesty and integrity,” he said as he was wrapping up, a paraphrase of his favorite poet, Qu Yuan. To that he added: “I hope everyone will forget me – that includes Chinese people and overseas Chinese. Forget me.”

The Beijing-based historian Zhang Lifan said Wen’s remarks could be seen as his parting message before going into full retirement next year. “As a premier who famously cares about his reputation and his own place in history, I think Wen is trying to say loud and clear that he is innocent and all those allegations against him or his family are biased and misleading,” Zhang said

Zhang said Wen was confident that he had been wrongly accused and wanted to voice his frustration about becoming the main target of criticism from Communist Party conservatives and leftists opposed to his high-profile appeals for bolder political and economic reform.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/wen-jiabao-please-forget-me/feed/0Ministry of Truth: Obama and Beijinghttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/ministry-of-truth-obama-and-beijing/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2012/11/ministry-of-truth-obama-and-beijing/#commentsThu, 15 Nov 2012 21:28:24 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=146680The following examples of censorship instructions, issued to the media and/or Internet companies by various central (and sometimes local) government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to those instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.” CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

Central Propaganda Department: With regards to the online contents about the story “Beijing Spends 70 Mil Yuan on Heating per Day,” all media are asked not to carry, report, or comment on this. (November 11, 2012)